19 April 2025
Everton 0 Man City 2
The Toffees only have three more games left at Goodison Park. Despite having a plush new stadium to go to, this is going to be an emotional departure for their fans who have such strong ties to this ground. They welcomed Man City for the last time, with the visitors desperate for three points so as to not let a top five finish slip through their grasp.
Everton had surprised many with a win at the City Ground last time out, proving to be a thorn in the side for surprise package Nott’m Forest this campaign. Since David Moyes returned to his former club, they are one of the form teams in the Premier League. This was a dangerous opponent for Pep Guardiola’s side, although they have an impressive record of visiting this ground.
Man City were dominating possession in the early stages of the game. Nunes tried a left-footed shot from outside the box, which seemed to be arrowing into the bottom corner of the goal. Pickford reacted well and covered a lot of ground to get a hand to it to keep it out. The Toffees’ keeper is so integral to his side getting results this season.
Harrison was impressing for the hosts. O’Reilly was falling for is tricks every time he had the ball. More often than not, it involved him shifting it to his left-foot and putting in curling crosses that just needed a touch from a teammate. The Toffees are not blessed with an attacker who dominates in the air, long gone are the good old days of Duncan Ferguson.
The resulting corner was swung into a congested penalty area. Tarkowski rose above everyone to get a head to it but his effort came back off the post. O’Brien was nearest to it but could not react quickly enough to adjust his feet and slot it home. The hosts should have gained confidence from seeing just how many problems they could cause this Man City defence.
This match was looking quite even, despite the visitors having the lion’s share of possession. De Bruyne almost broke the deadlock as he looked to bend a shot into the far corner with his weaker foot. The only thing more impressive than the shot was the way O’Brien threw himself at it and managed to head it behind for a corner. Superb defending.
After the interval, Moyes’ team-talk seemed to have done the trick. A deep cross was put into the back post and Branthwaite was completely unmarked. He adjusted well to head towards goal but, somehow, Ortega managed to get a hand to it to deny him. The German had leapt into the air with a Schmeichel-like star jump and kept his side on level terms.
Then Everton were hit with a cruel blow. As Tarkowski moved towards the ball, he immediately crumbled to the ground. He was waving his hands around to let the medical staff know this was serious while clutching his hamstring. There was no need for a magic sponge, he already had his captain’s armband off and knew his day and maybe season was done.
Keane came on to replace him and immediately looked the weak link in The Toffees’ armour. He was booked within a minute of joining the game. This then affected his ability to make challenges when City attacked. That said, Everton broke forward and Doucoure got a shot off from a wide position which Ortega did well to turn behind for a corner.
The visitors were starting to exploit the lack of cohesion in the Everton back line without their captain. Marmoush laid it off to Savinho who shot but Pickford made a good stop. Moments later Keane let a high ball bounce before his weak header sent the Egyptian through on goal. The Toffees’ keeper closed him down quickly and made an important block.
However, he was soon to turn from hero to villain. Nunes crossed from the byline and Pickford tried to slide in with his feet to cut it out and completely missed the ball. It left the advancing O’Reilly the simple task of diverting it into the empty net. Finally Man City had got the goal they had been craving with only six minutes of normal time remaining.
Guardiola’s side started to dominate from this point. Doku was causing problems with his silky skills for the visitors. He found Gundogan in the box, who laid it into the path of Kovacic. The Croatian seemed to lose his footing but still managed to drill his shot into the far corner with Pickford rooted to the spot. Fitness had won this game for the visitors.
You could see that too many Everton players were operating on empty tanks in the last twenty minutes of this game. Man City capitalised and continued their impressive record at Goodison Park, they may miss this stadium more than anyone associated with The Toffees. More importantly. Victory took them back into the top four once again.
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